1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to arrays of resistive change elements, and, more specifically, to improved methods for reading and programming such arrays without the need for cell in situ selection and current limiting elements.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Any discussion of the related art throughout this specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.
Resistive change devices and arrays, often referred to as resistance RAMs by those skilled in the art, are well known in the semiconductor industry. Such devices and arrays, for example, include, but are not limited to, phase change memory, solid electrolyte memory, metal oxide resistance memory, and carbon nanotube memory such as NRAM™.
Resistive change devices and arrays store information by adjusting a resistive change element, typically comprising some material that can be adjusted between a number of non-volatile resistive states in response to some applied stimuli, within each individual array cell between two or more resistive states. For example, each resistive state within a resistive change element cell can correspond to a data value which can be programmed and read back by supporting circuitry within the device or array.
For example, a resistive change element might be arranged to switch between two resistive states: a high resistive state (which might correspond to a logic “0”) and a low resistive state (which might correspond to a logic “1”). In this way, a resistive change element can be used to store one binary digit (bit) of data.
Or, as another example, a resistive change element might be arranged to switch between four resistive states, so as to store two bits of data. Or a resistive change element might be arranged to switch between eight resistive states, so as to store four bits of data. Or a resistive change element might be arranged to switch between 2n resistive states, so as to store n bits of data.
Within the current state of the art, there is an increasing need to scale and increase the cell density of arrays of resistive change element arrays. However, as technology is developed within the state of the art to provide increasingly smaller resistive change elements, the physical dimensions of individual array cells within a resistive change element array becomes, in certain applications, limited by the physical dimensions of selection circuitry used within traditional resistive change element array cells. To this end, it would be advantageous if a method for reading and programming arrays of resistive change elements were realized such that individual array cells could be rapidly accessed (read) or adjusted (programmed) without the need for in situ selection circuitry or other current controlling devices within each cell.